Californians bet farming agave for spirits holds key to weathering drought and groundwater limits

[sl8]

https://apnews.com/article/california-agave-farming-9145773e0ae300964c7487f791e4f429

Californians bet farming agave for spirits holds key to weathering drought and groundwater limits

BY AMY TAXIN
Updated 4:52 AM EST, November 5, 2023

MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked.

A decade later, his property is now dotted with thousands of what he and others hope is a promising new crop for the state following years of punishing drought and a push to scale back on groundwater pumping.

The 49-year-old mechanical engineer is one of a growing number of Californians planting agave to be harvested and used to make spirits, much like the way tequila and mezcal are made in Mexico. The trend is fueled by the need to find hardy crops that don’t need much water and a booming appetite for premium alcoholic beverages since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s attracted entrepreneurs such as Ortega, as well as some California farmers. They’re seeking to shift to more water-efficient crops and irrigation methods to avoid fallowing their fields with looming limits on how much groundwater they can pump, as well as more extreme weather patterns anticipated with climate change. Agave, unlike most other crops, thrives on almost no water.

[...]

[justaprogressive]

1. What the world need now

is more TEQUILA and MEZCAL!!

[Farmer-Rick]

2. Well, I guess growing cactus

Is one solution to global warming drougt conditions.

I always found it strange that GMO corporations don't focus more on plants that can survive with less water and fertilizer.

I mean some work is being done in that area like with tobacco plants using less water by not opening their stomata as often.

But mostly the GMO corporations focus on profit over usefulness. That's why we have corn and wheat that can be drenched in round up without dying. I guess, eventually, they'll consider mankind's global habitat decline.....

[quaint]

3. Which cactus are you referring to? Thanks.

[Farmer-Rick]

4. Huh, I googled it

I thought agave plants were cactus plants.

"Most often Agave is confused with a cactus. However, Agave is a kind of succulent."

I had no idea.

[usonian]

5. Cactus plants are not totally heat-resistant. Look at what happened in Arizona,

and CA temps have hit 110℉ even in the foothills. More in valleys, but I don't look.

[quaint]

6. Too true.

Agaves are succulents and, so far, seem to deal well with drought. Extended heat? We'll see.

[IcyPeas]

7. Also agave nectar... used often as a sugar substitute...

Agave syrup comes from the agave plant. It grows in the volcanic soils of Mexico, where it has been used by native Mexicans for many centuries. Aztecs prized the agave plant, and believed it was a gift from the Gods. The syrup is particularly high in fructose, which makes it sweeter than table sugar, but gives it a lower glycaemic index (GI). Lower GI means that there are less steep fluctuations in blood glucose, and thus in the body’s insulin production

More:

https://www.cofradex.com/how-agave-syrup-is-made